Maine AgrAbility

By Ellen S. Gibson Stuck at home? Kids driving you crazy? With a working stove and a few staples in the pantry, you can keep everyone busy and happy in the kitchen. Over the years I’ve found, starting with my own children, that kids love to cook. It’s messy, they can use their hands, and […]

By Ellen S. Gibson It’s a warm day in March when I met Bill Hayes and his wife, Carol, on their organic farm in Plymouth, 24 miles east of Bangor. He was chopping a ditch through the ice on their driveway to channel the melting water. “You’d never know he doesn’t have any feet,” quipped […]

By Ellen S. Gibson Dear Farmers: How old are you? Okay, let’s just say you’re not as young as you used to be. Is farming physically harder on your body than it used to be? Yes? No? If yes, what physical issues do you struggle with? What would you say if I told you that […]

By Ellen S. Gibson I love the challenge of having flowers bloom from April to November and cooking with produce from my garden. Yes, well, I usually plant more than I have time to harvest, the grass is constantly infiltrating my flower beds, along with the cat and a family of woodchucks, and I can’t […]

By Ellen S. Gibson My neighbor told me, “I don’t need to exercise. I get all the exercise I need working on the farm all day long.” I agree that he gets plenty of physical activity in the course of a workday on the farm. But what would he say if I were to ask, […]

By Ellen Gibson But you don’t have to take my word for it. Instead, save the dates for the Annual Maine Agricultural Trades Show taking place at the Augusta Civic Center on Tuesday, January 14: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m Wednesday, January 15: 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Thursday, January 16: 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 […]

By Ellen S. Gibson Consider how you use your body when you cook. Kneading bread or rolling out pie dough engages the hands, the arms, and the shoulders. Sustained chopping, of herbs for example, holds your predominant arm in a tense position. Stirring a big pot of soup uses the muscles and joints that give […]

By Ellen S. Gibson The November 2019 issue of the AARP Bulletin1 has an article by Mike Zimmerman that cites chronic low-grade inflammation as a causal factor for a wide range of illnesses associated with aging. A list of these ailments is diverse and harrowing. It includes dementia, depression, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, arthritis, as […]

By Ellen S. Gibson There are four kinds of people in the world: those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers.  –Rosalynn Carter We have all had the experience of being taken care of, whether it was a bout with chicken pox […]

By Ellen S. Gibson Welcome to the first blog in a series that will deal with issues surrounding aging, farming, and quality of life. Who am I? I am a farmer, educator, and consultant to the Maine AgrAbility Program. I raise goats and the forage they eat and tend to the fields and woods of […]